Why I Built the Orangutan Conservation Initiative
I have thought about making my own orangutan website for a long time. It was one of those thoughts I kept coming back to, but I was usually busy working on another website or helping someone else with theirs.
Orangutan Conservation Initiative brings together different parts of my life. I was born in Indonesia, grew up around Camp Leakey, and later returned to spend about four years there as a volunteer and many years working on their website and in their Jakarta and Los Angeles offices. My parents dedicated much of their lives to orangutan conservation, and this site is my way of keeping that connection alive while sharing what I have learned.
I have also spent much of my adult life designing websites and software for use by nonprofit organizations.
Making a website about orangutans seemed like a natural way to put those things together.
The site is mainly about education for now. I want it to be a place where people can learn about orangutans, the forests they live in, and the problems affecting their survival without having to search through dozens of different websites.
There is a lot of information available online now, but it can be spread out. One website might explain orangutan behaviour. Another talks about palm oil. Another is focused on tourism, and another on fundraising for a particular conservation project. It can be hard to understand how everything connects.
What is often missing is a personal perspective from someone who has lived and worked around orangutans and the people protecting them.
So that’s what I am trying to do here.
The site will include general information about orangutans, the threats facing them, and the differences between the different species. It will also include practical guides about palm oil, travel, and how to visit orangutans in Kalimantan – not as a tour operator, but from the perspective of someone who has been there many times.
I grew up around Camp Leakey and watched it change from a small research camp into one of the most well-known tourist destinations in Indonesian Borneo. I know many of the people there and was around orangutans from a young age. At the time, it did not seem especially unusual. It was just part of my life.
Travel is an important part of orangutan conservation. It is how many people become involved in conservation in the first place. Some see a documentary, look up where they can see that particular animal, and eventually find themselves in places like Indonesia. Maybe that’s why you are here.
It is hard not to feel involved in orangutan conservation when it is what you grew up knowing.
This site is small. But it’s growing.
Over time, I would like it to become a larger collection of guides, educational material, and personal stories about orangutans and Indonesia. I would also like it to help direct people toward organizations and projects doing real work on the ground – organizations I have worked with and trust.
Maybe it becomes something much bigger one day. But for now, it is a place to start.
